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This afternoon, we uploaded information on the latest 1/43 scale new product announcements from Spark Model to the website. Some great historic F1 and Le Mans in this batch. Click HERE for the complete list. Please order by May 3 to guarantee delivery.

The Ford GT40 is one of the most famous of all sports racing cars. Built by Ford to challenge the supremacy of Ferrari at Le Mans, the GT40 first raced in 1964, and went on to win Le Mans four times in a row, from 1966 to 1969. Here, in this new Haynes Manual, is a unique perspective on what it takes to own, restore and maintain a GT40, as well as an insight into the engineering and construction of this legendary racing car.

This trilogy of books contains a remarkable collection of models which is the property of the N Collection and comprises every single car that raced at Le Mans between 1949 and 2009 – over 3,000 cars.

Here, for the first time, one can see and compare all the various makes and models, from the famous to the obscure. Not only are there three views of every model, but the salient facts are given as to who drove each car, whom the entrant was and how each performed.

AUTOMOBILSPORT #12 (02/2017)- English Edition

Why look so far afield…?

While doing our research ahead of putting this brand new issue of AUTOMOBILSPORT together, we were surprised to learn that it’s not just the famous Mille Miglia that’s celebrating its 90th birthday in 2017. It turns out our home track the Nürburgring, situated just 100 kilometres from AUTOMOBILSPORT HQ, is also celebrating 90 years of existence. The Green Hell wasn’t, however, the first ever venue to stage the famous ‘Eifelrennen’ – that honour goes to the so-called Eifelring, a circuit made up of public roads in Germany’s Eifel mountain area, which came to life five years earlier, 1922 to be exact. The 33.2 kilometre circuit, featuring 86 corners segments of unpaved village roads, had legendary status in car and bike racing at the time. In fact, it was known as Germany’s answer to the Targa Florio, with drivers like Fritz von Opel and Rudolf Caracciola taking part. Those early days of the Eifelrennen are a part of the history of Düren, the town that AUTOMOBILSPORT HQ calls home, and we feel that we have a connection to that motorsport tradition. After all, the 1922 Eifelrennen was the dawn of a host of legendary races in this part of the world. You can read some our columnist Eckhard Schimpf’s personal Nürburgring memories in this issue.

Despite making this fascinating discovery right on our doorstep, we still couldn’t resist the urge to head to the other side of the Atlantic to another of the world’s great circuits in sun-kissed Florida last December. With an ambient temperature of 25 degrees, more than 200XX historic racing cars took part in the Sebring 12 Hour Classic. Similar to the Le Mans Classic and the Daytona 24 Classic, the five different starting groups had four goes each within the 12 Hours. And adding a third large historic endurance race means competitors can now aim for the ‘Triple Crown’ (Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring). While it might not be exactly around the corner for those in central Europe, we can highly recommend a trip to Florida during its ‘winter’..

That’s not all this issue has to offer in terms of American racing history, either. Our title story is dedicated to the legendary Big Bangers of the Can-Am Series, with a focus on Bruce McLaren’s team and the overwhelming dominance of the orange M8B in 1969 and a look at their main opponents.

With these and plenty of other high-octane stories, we hope you enjoy this issue of AUTOMOBILSPORT provides you the perfect start to the 2017 season.

In issue #12 you will find:

COVER STORY CAN-AM 1969

McLAREN´S PERFECT SEASON – When the Kings of Can-Am Ruled “No-Rules Racing”
FRANK ZIMMERMANN – Memories of a Can-Am Mechanic
OUT OF REACH – McLaren and their main opponents

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Walter Wolf on the debut victory of his WR1 at Argentina 1977
Eckhard Schimpf on 90 years of Nürburgring
Manfred Kremer on the first privately entered Porsche 935
Harold Schwarz and Michael Cotton on Mazda at Le Mans 1991
and many more!

Ford organized a ‘reunion’ of AJ Foyt and Dan Gurney to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their victory at Le Mans in the Ford Mk IV in 1967. Robin Miller’s interview for Racer.com at the RRDC event at Long Beach last night is not to be missed!

Both Lauda’s #1 and John Watson’s #2 BT46Bs will be produced in Limited Editions by TSM this summer (resin, $235.00 each). Advance orders (by April 21, please) are now being accepted at MotorsportCollector.com.

Designer Gordon Murray discusses the development of the ‘Fan Car’ in a clip from a recent BBC Documentary below:

This first comprehensive biography of Rudolf Uhlenhaut, illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, depicts his life and technical accomplishments, including a complete compilation of his patents which puts them into a technical and historical context. An engineer and designer for Daimler-Benz, he became famous for his achievements regarding the Silver Arrows, the 300 SL with the famous gull wing doors, the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, and the various record-breaking experimental C 111 versions.
Based on numerous interviews with Uhlenhaut himself, contemporary witnesses, colleagues and family members, it paints a vivid picture of the person behind the technical innovations and explores his character and motivation. Born in 1906 in London, the son of an English mother and a German father, Rudolf Uhlenhaut joined Daimler-Benz in 1931 after finishing his mechanical engineering studies in Munich. In 1936 he took over as head of the racing department and conducted the Silver Arrows and Rudolf Caracciola to their 1937 European championship. After World War II, he created the road versions W 198 and the smaller open-topped W 121 of the 300 SL “Gullwing,” both launched at the International Motor Sports Show in New York 1954. Uhlenhaut’s official company car, a 300 SLR with a top speed of 290 km/h was the Uhlenhaut Coupé – the fastest car of its day authorized for road use.

A Life in Car Design gives a unique insight into design and project work for a number of leading companies in the motor industry, including Jaguar, Lotus, TVR and General Motors.

The book recounts the author’s experiences from within the industry, tracing the changes in the design process over a period of nearly 50 years, and follows his career at home and around the world. It shows how the change from imperial to metric measurements and the growing use of computers revolutionized the quality and accuracy of modern vehicles. It also covers the issues and challenges of meeting project targets, and some of the issues that can deflect those efforts. It features previously untold stories, and is thoughtfully illustrated with historical engineering drawings and photographs.

As well as informing automobile enthusiasts it is also hoped that this book will inspire upcoming generations to consider a career in the creative field.